


Through the Galaxy (only for you)

by Perlmutt



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Clone Wars, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, Jedi, M/M, Mutual Pining, Padawan, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Presumed Dead, Reunions, Star Wars - Freeform, Team Bonding, Team as Family, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22418914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perlmutt/pseuds/Perlmutt
Summary: Against the rules of Jedi, Padawan Steve Rogers developed romantic feelings for his friend, Tony Stark, the owner of a large company and the consultant of the Galactic Senate. Meditating about the conflict in his heart, he decides to confess his feelings. But with the clone wars threatening the whole galaxy, the future is not safe and Steve fears that he might loose his only chance...
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 20
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for stopping by, it means a lot to me! I'm really anxious, because I don't know if anybody will even like this story. I'm a huge Star Wars fan and couldn't resist to write this setting for the boys.  
> The story isn't complete yet, so if you got ideas or suggestions, throw them at me in the comments! <3
> 
> In the end notes, you can find links to wiki pages that explain some things about the setting and the planets and so on. No need to read them, you will understand the story even if you ignore the links. I just thought it might be nice to have pictures to places and alien species.
> 
> Not beta'ed and English is not my mother language, but I'm trying my best!

It was a sunny day on Coruscant, the sounds of the busy city were a quiet hum in the air, when a smooth voice called out for him. “Hello, Steve! How are you doing? It's been a while since the last time we met. Rumors have that you will soon be knighted!” Steve looked up into the dark eyes of the man that calmly approached him. They were warm and welcoming.

“Mr Stark. It's an honor to see you.” The Padawan put his book away, stood up and bowed slightly. “What brings you here today?”

“Steve, how often do I have to tell you to call me Tony when we're alone?” The consultant of the senate laid a gentle hand on his skinny shoulder. He was a few years older than Steve and a well-known and welcomed guest on Coruscant, the political capital of the Galactic Republic.“The senate wanted me to inform them about the new gunship for the clone troops, since the fighting in the outer rim is getting heavier from day to day.” Swallowing hard, his voice lost its cheery tone for a moment before he collected himself again. “And since I'm already here, I thought I'd pay a quick visit to my two favorite Force users, Master Jarvis and you. Now tell me, are the rumors true? Will you become a Jedi Knight? Your Master speaks highly of your skills. He told me you proved yourself worthy in many battles against the Separatists and that you have a strong connection to the Force.”

The man with the wild brown hair removed his hand and the Padawan already missed the contact. He looked up and felt his cheeks flush at the compliment. Tony's extravagant clothes shone brightly in the light that filtered through the lush, green leaves of the trees in the gardens of the enormous Jedi temple. The crimson and gold fabrics were evidence enough to realize that he was more than just rich. Steve didn't like those rich snobs, they strutted around, looking down on everyone else and were convinced the galaxy was their playground. But this one was different. Steve remembered that Tony had been very young -barely twenty-two- when he took over the position as the CEO of his late father's weapons company, ten years ago, before the political conflict escalated into the clone wars. He himself had been merely a Jedi Youngling back then. Steve had known Tony for half his life and even though their upbringings were so different from each other, the two had become friends after a kind of rocky start.

“Yes, Master Erskine talked to Master Fury and soon the ceremony will be held.” Steve smiled at him and secretly rubbed his sweaty palms over the rough and simple fabric of his tunic. Having the brunet's gaze purely fixated on him was scary and yet exciting. He felt his heart beating hard against his ribs. But the pain in his lungs from his asthma was a good distraction. “May I ask… Will you be here during the ceremony? I know you are no Jedi, but you're a close friend to many Masters of the High Council of the Jedi Order and a guest of the Galactic Senate. It would mean a lot to me.” Steve lifted his gaze to look into Tony's kind face. The counselor smiled at him, but his eyes were sad.

“I'm sorry, Steve. I won't be able to be there. It's not allowed, I'm no member of the Jedi Order as you just said yourself.” The older man looked down at the ground between them. Steve's heart sank. Just when he was about to open his mouth again, Tony continued. “But… if your duties allowed it, it would be my pleasure to treat you to dinner afterward. To celebrate. That you're a Jedi Knight then. That is, if Jedi are even allowed to celebrate.” He winked at him and Steve felt himself blush full force.

“It's not usual, but it's also not forbidden for a Jedi to celebrate.” Steve felt fuzzy and warm all over. “I would feel honored to spend the evening with you. Thank you, Tony.”

“It's my pleasure, Steve. I need to go now unfortunately, but I'm looking forward to see you again soon. And by then you will be a Jedi.” Steve was suddenly pulled tightly into a brief hug. His head was tucked under Tony's chin and he felt the soft surface of his clothes on his cheeks. It was over too soon for his liking and Tony pulled back. But his hands remained on Steve's slim shoulders. There was something in Tony's eyes that he couldn't identify, a flash of emotion. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something else but he bit his lips and swallowed his words. “Be safe, Padawan Rogers. May the Force be with you.”

Steve suppressed the urge to pull the man into another hug. He smiled a small, private smile and almost lost himself in the depths of Tony's eyes. “May the Force be with you.”

Steve watched Tony go back inside and stood there for a long time. The gentle wind of Coruscant tousled his blonde hair and he looked up to the sky. He knew he mustn't feel this way, Jedi were not allowed to develop intimate feelings for another person. But his heart did not care about the stupid rules. His heart loved Tony more than he even wanted to admit to himself. Warmth pooled in his stomach, when he thought about their appointment after his ceremony and a spark of nervousness tingled in the back of his head. He should meditate over the whirlwind of emotions in his chest and hopefully the Force would calm him. Maybe he'd even confess his feelings to Tony, if the right situation presented itself. His lightsaber swayed on his belt when he picked up his book from his spot in the grass, and made his way into the temple to his quarters. He couldn't await the ceremony and meeting Tony again.

Little did he know then, that he'd never make it to their dinner.

Two hours after Steve officially became a Jedi Knight and a full member of the Order, a clone commander that had been guarding the entrance to the Jedi temple with his unit, pointed his blaster gun at his head and Steve heard the faint sound of a hologram in the hands of another clone trooper. It showed the Republic's Supreme Chancellor.

“Execute Order 66.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued
> 
> Links:  
>  https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Order_66  
>  (A top secret order, the clone army of the Galactic Republic attacked and killed every Jedi, Padawan and youngling without warning.)  
>  https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Coruscant  
>  (Capital of the Galactic Republik which became the Galactic Empire after the Oder 66)  
>  https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jedi_Temple  
>  (The temple where most Jedi lived during the time of the Republic, it's on Coruscant)  
>  https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Padawan  
>  (A jedi trainee. You start with age 3/4 as a Youngling, become a Padawan with age 10/11 and become a Jedi Knight around age 20-25. Becoming a Master needs way more time and experience and is only necessary if you want to become part of the High Council)  
>  https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Galactic_Senate  
> (Also located on Coruscant, has an own building, every planetary system that is part of the Republic has a senator)  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Confederacy_of_Independent_Systems  
> (Also known as the Separatists, political enemy of the Republic)  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Clone_Wars  
> (war between the Republic and the Separatists, Jedi and Clone Trooper against Sith and Battle Droids)  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sith  
> (Jedi are the good guys on the light side of the force, Sith are the bad guys on the dark side of the force. They are often selfish, greedy, brutal and extreme)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years later, somewhere in the Outer Rim...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to all of you who gave this story a chance! <3
> 
> I'll add links in the end note if you are interested what kind of species I gave the team members and how they look :D

The scar on his forearm itched. Five years had passed since the blaster shot had hit him when he dodged the attack of Commander Brock. Steve stilled his hands where he was checking over his lightsaber, to rub over the spot. He tunic was dirty and smelled of smoke and blood, he definitely needed to wash it. Hopefully they would soon find a small space port where they could take a break and breath without getting shot at. Also, the Quinjet needed immediate repairs, the last battle hat been heavy. They lost their main rear deflector shield, the guns on the right side were destroyed and another jump to hyperspace would probably fry the complete system and they'd end up floating dead in space without any power at all. Steve had no idea how they were supposed to pay for a new hyperspace engine.

The automatic doors to his little room opened and Natasha stood in the doorway. Her smooth red skin color was a stark contrast to her black suit, stacked with a scary amount of vibroknives. “Hey, Steve. Clint says the next opportunity to land is on Tatooine. We'll be there in about an hour.” The Twi'lek waited for him to nod in response. “Maybe you want to change out of _that_ -” She gestured at his beige Jedi tunic. “-into something more subtle. The last time you decided to wear something traditional we ended up being hunted by a bunch Trandoshans for the bounty placed on our heads.” Without waiting for an answer, the former spy and assassin vanished into the hallway, her lekku swaying slightly behind her. Steve always wondered where she'd learned to move so soundless. He'd once made the mistake of stealing her breakfast. She'd sneaked up on him and had him pinned to the ground in mere seconds, two locked and loaded blasters right at his throat. In that moment he'd promised himself to never anger her again. He was pretty sure that she had also had some kind of Jedi training in one of her previous lives, even though she was neither force-sensitive nor did she own a lightsaber or had been part of the Order.

But she was probably right when it came to his clothes, Steve mused. He stood up and carefully placed his cleaning tools on his small bed. His team always made fun of him for dressing like a grandpa, but he liked the traditional Jedi robes, they were comfortable and reminded him in a good way of his past life. Pullip up the rough fabric over his head, he caught a glimpse of himself in the shiny surface of the metallic locker to his left. He was tall and his shoulders were broad. Muscles from years of hard work and fighting made him look more intimidating than he'd liked it. On the rare occasions when he saw a hologram of himself from his years as a Padawan, he wasn't sure if this body really was him or if this new appearance was merely a dream or a force-induced illusion. Averting his eyes after a heartbeat, he put on one of his dark wool sweaters. It was a dull color and pretty shapeless, hanging from his shoulders and looking like a sad excuse of a shirt. But it was long enough to fall over his belt and hide his weapon. He refrained from putting on the scarf that he normally wore with this shirt. They were going to Tatooine. He'd never been there before, but the planet was known for sand, heat, smugglers and its twin suns. The stories he'd heard, said that Jabba the Hut had his palace somewhere in the northern dune sea, from where he controlled not only a big part of the galaxy-wide black market and the secret hyperspace routes to the outer rim but also the local gambling industry and commanded every bounty hunter and owned all of the illegal slave auctions. Therefore this desert was exactly the planet Steve would avoid landing on, if they weren't in immediate need of repairs.

When he was finished with changing, Steve put the cleaning tools away and went to the cockpit where Clint, their pilot, and Natasha discussed about how they were supposed to pay for all the broken parts of the Quinjet. Clint complained that the Dejarik board was very important too and Natasha argued that a set of Sabacc cards would be cheaper. The spice smugglers all through the galaxy were known for their love for gambling and Clint would just end up cheating again or loosing his last credits to Natasha. Also, everyone knew that the Twi'lek would win the discussion and the Zabrak would accept his defeat, if he didn't want her to paint his horns pink again when he was sleeping. Their good-natured banter made him smile.

Steve made his way over to where Bruce sat, the only doctor on the team. The Mirialan was currently patching up Thor's shoulder who had a flesh wound from a stray blaster shot from the last fight on his shoulder. The green-skinned man with glasses and dark hair looked up at him when he came over. Thor's long hair was pulled up into a messy bun, allowing Bruce to work properly.

“Thor, are you okay? This looks bad.” Steve asked with a crease between his brows. The dried blood and open flesh looked quite painful.

“Do not worry, dear Captain. I will not be defeated by this small wound. When my time comes, I shall leave this life in a glorious battle, alongside my brothers-in-arms.” The Asgardian grinned at him cheerfully.

“Good to hear, my friend.”

Steve and the rest of the team were already used to his weird speaking pattern. The big hunk of a man was the last to join their team and probably the weirdest one among them. He'd once told them that he was about 1500 years old, had fled from his home planet Asgard when his brother betrayed him and stole his throne, to search the galaxy for his sacred weapon, which had apparently gotten lost in the war between the brothers. By the time when Bruce brought him to the team he'd just retrieved his hammer. It had a weird name, that none of them could pronounce correctly.

“You can fix this, right, Bruce?” He asked the other man.

“Yeah no problem. It's not that deep, it only looks really gruesome. He should be as good as new in about a week or so.” He shrugged and carefully bandaged the wound again.

“Thank you.” He nodded at them.

Bruce was a highly talented chemistry professor, who had worked on Coruscant, now the capital of the Galactic Empire, after the fall of the Republic. But he was also an excellent doctor, even when he insisted that they should ask a real medic instead of him, when one of them was injured. Bruce had fled the planet when the Order 66 had been executed, afraid to loose his life because he'd had casual contact with the Jedi Order. Sometimes Steve wondered why the two of them had never met during his time as a Padawan, when he too had lived on Coruscant. Maybe it was because the Professor had been kind of known to be a very gentle person, but his angry outbursts had been said to be scary and unpredictable.

Steve turned around and went to stand at the small display in the wall, on the other side of the sitting area, where Bruce and Thor were cleaning the medical equipment. He tapped on the screen a few times to bring up the information about the Mos Eisley space port where they would be landing. But his mind was elsewhere. Whenever they had been fighting and the blaster fire was still ringing in his ears, he thought back to the day when his whole world had been crushed. He'd seen how Commander Brock had ordered his troops to fire at him, his new robe had been burned and the first action he'd done as a Jedi Knight was to kill the clones, that had shot his Master Erskine right in front of him. Fear and anger and sorrow had threatened to drown him. With nothing but the clothes he'd been wearing, a few credits in his pocket and his beloved lightsaber he'd fled from the temple and stolen the first ship he'd seen from the hangar. Dead bodies and bloody stains were haunting him in his dreams even now. The troopers he'd trusted with his life had killed everyone: the Masters of the High Council, the Knights and their Padawans, even the Jedi Younglings. Up until today he wasn't sure if anybody else had managed to survive the massacre in the temple. He didn't dare think about what might have happened to Tony. The senate consultant must have been on his way to meet Steve, when all hell had broken loose. The thought of Tony being slaughtered because of him was his worst nightmare.

He took a deep breath to focus on the present. He'd never heard word of Tony being killed that day. But on the other hand he'd also never heard word of Tony surviving. Steve swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Dwelling on the past would not make their ship repair itself for free. They still needed to get the Quinjet fixed on Tatooine, if they wanted to leave that desert-ball of a planet again. He pulled an index list of every workshop in Mos Eisley up and skimmed over the names of the shop owners. The back of his neck tingled when his blue eyes landed on an unfamiliar name. It was a strange feeling. He ignored in in favor of reading the rest of the list but his gaze repeatedly landed on that one particular name.

Huh.

“Clint? Natasha? I think I know where we can get the ship patched up. I've got a good feeling about this.” He told them, still looking at the display.

“Okay, where to, Captain?” Clint asked him, pushing various buttons as he slowly piloted them to the city.

“A small landing port on the edge of Mos Eisley. It's run by a man called Howard Potts.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Natasha: Twi'lek  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Twi'lek
> 
> Clint: Zabrak  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Zabrak
> 
> Bruce: Mirialan (the species got green skin, I couldn't resist)  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mirialan
> 
> I decided to let Thor continue being Asgardian bc that's not really human, so it fits the bill.
> 
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Tatooine  
> (the home planet of Luke Skywalker in the Original Trilogy)
> 
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mos_Eisley
> 
> Credits: The currency in the Star Wars stories
> 
> The Quinjet is their spaceship, in my head it looks a bit like a mixture from the original Quinjet design (but way larger) and the Millennium Falcon.
> 
> Outer Rim: edge of the known galaxy


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait!! RL is a bitch...

“Are you sure we can trust that Potts-guy? His workshop is a mess and everywhere are half-finished machines and he wasn't even there when we landed! Only his droids! And who the fuck needs three astromechs? Three, Steve, three! This is suspicious… I say we get the fuck out of here. Also, this planet sucks. It's hot and everywhere is sand and the most important: We're in Hutt territory!” Clint whisper-shouted at him. They were carrying bags of food and supplies back to the Quinjet. “I was a smuggler, if someone recognizes me we'll have the next bunch of bounty hunters up our asses! Steve, please let us hurry back to the ship. This stinks!”

“Clint, you're overreacting, Potts was probably just fetching spare parts from somewhere. And the astromechs were really trustworthy looking.” Steve tried to reassure his friend. Though he could understand that he was nervous. Clint had a dangerous past as a former smuggler for the Black Sun and the city was filled with shadowy people. Steve shifted his box of supplies to one arm and pulled the hood of his poncho deeper into his face. No need to be reckless with bounty hunters and the imperial forces all around. The Empire paid a shitload of money for survivors of the Jedi Order. “But you're right. Let's hurry back to the ship.” He nodded in Clint's direction, who'd covered a part of his face with a dirty rag to hide his characteristic Zabrak tattoos that would identify him immediately. Clint's foldable bowcaster was safely hidden away under his wide clothes. “I hope they've already repaired the hyperspace engine. We're lucky that the astromech in charge promised us to hurry and make it cheap.”

Steve let his gaze secretly wander over the scenery as he quickened his pace. Never before had he seen a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. And he had been on more ugly planets in his life than he could count. Tusken Raiders and Jawas were lurking in the shadows, slaves and their owners were strolling through the streets. Various alien and humanoid races were here, as well as the occasional Stormtrooper on his patrol. They had to be extremely careful. Five people, all of them wanted by the Empire or various syndicates in Clint's and Natasha's case, with a partly destroyed ship was like an invitation for trouble to come and visit them.

Unbeknownst to them, a shadow hid in the dark alleyway, that led to the most rundown neighborhood of the city.

“I hope this doesn't explode in our faces! I still don't trust that mechanic.” With a kick Clint opened the heavy iron door to the workshop, when they arrived back to the little port some time later. It slammed in the wall behind and Steve slipped through the gap before the door came back crashing into his face. The round landing port was enclosed by walls, high enough to almost reach the level of the rooftops that surrounded them and the open blue sky above was a stark contrast to the yellow-ish stones. It was small, Clint managed to land their space ship without destroying anything, but it was a close fit.

“Keep calm, we haven't even met the man yet-” Steve almost choked on the rest of his sentence. Laying eyes on their ship, Steve winced when he took in the current state of the Quinjet. Wires and metal scraps were scattered all over the sandy floor and various droids were bustling around as well. Amidst the chaos was a man, shorter than Steve, with his back to them, elbow deep in a mess of colorful wires that were sticking out in weird angles from the backside of the ship. He wore greasy and dirty work pants, tools and pens sticking out of the pockets and a probably formerly red, sleeveless shirt. His dark hair was sticking up in every direction, some scars were on his forearms and his face was hidden beneath a complicated looking welding mask. But what drew Steve's eyes toward him the most, was the small circle of blue light that shone softly in his chest, that Steve could see when the man turned around to gesture wildly with his free hand at his blue astromech to hurry it up. He'd never seen someone or something like that.

“Dum-E, get me the fusing pen, would you? And U, I need the bigger macrofuser, this one's not powerful enough. JARVIS, skip that song, I don't like Shag Kava, get me something that has little bit more power!” The music that had been playing in the background changed to something that Steve didn't recognize and wouldn't exactly define as music. Through the welding mask the voice of the mechanic sounded contorted. Noticing Steve and Clint standing by the doorway, he turned around to look at them through his mask. Motioning with his hands to the droids once more, he pushed the mess of wires back into the ship, pulled his gloves off and walked over to them. “Your ship is a wreck, I won't guarantee that it will survive the next battle. Please tell me you guys aren't pirates, I don't want any trouble with you or the Empire. The last time someone had a gunfight in my workshop, I was scrubbing blood of my walls for almost two weeks and the paperwork that comes with corpses is a hassle, let me tell you that much. Howard Potts, nice to meet you, I take it one of you is the pilot, I need to talk with you about the deflector shield.” The man talked a mile a minute and offered his right hand while he pulled off his mask with the other.

Steve had put his bag of supplies on the ground next to his feet and was about to take the man's hand in a greeting, when he looked into the eyes of the stranger. But he was no stranger. The moment their hands met in mid-air a spark of something hit Steve's core, like a certain piece of a puzzle clicked into place.

Hazel colored eyes widened in surprise and realization, staring into his own and Steve saw Tatooine's two suns shining in them. “Tony,” He breathed, voice barely above a whisper, not wanting to break the fragile spell between them. “Is that really you?”

“Steve? Steve Rogers? This can't be true…” The man -Tony- gripped his hand a bit tighter and Steve let his eyes wander over his dearly missed friend's face. His dark hair was longer than he remembered it being, the first tiny wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were visible and he now had a complicated looking goatee which accentuated his strong jaw perfectly. Tony had aged in the last five years, but Steve supposed that he'd changed a lot as well. Still, Tony was as beautiful as on the first day Steve had met him and suddenly the longing and the feelings the former Jedi had buried deep inside of his heart were bubbling to the surface. Fear and sadness melted away and before Steve knew what he was doing, he was pulling the shorter man into his arms while a shuddering breath escaped his lips against his will. It took Tony a few seconds to respond to the sudden action but once he'd caught up with him, he was returning the hug fiercely. “Steve! Fuck! You're alive! Steve, you're alive! And you're here and- Steve, I thought you were dead! I thought I'd lost you when they- when they were… and then they...”

“Tony! Yes, yes, Tony, I'm alive and you're here and...” Steve hugged him a bit tighter to his chest and tucked the smaller's head in the crook of his neck. Tony arched his back to accommodate their positions since Steve was now a few inches taller than him. The blonde felt numb from overwhelming happiness. Slowly they eased their grips on each other and Steve watched Tony's face closely when they pulled apart. Stories were edged in his face, in every small wrinkle and scar, probably not all of them good-natured. But those brown eyes that looked at him with the same warmth like all those years ago drew him in and- “I thought I'd never see you again. I was so scared, Tony. It's embarrassing to admit, but I've never been more scared in my live than when I thought I was responsible for your death. I always wondered what had happened to you that day.” The whispered confession left his lips and maybe it was the spur of the moment that made him wear his heart on his sleeve. Carefully he reached out for Tony and gently brushed his knuckles over the other's cheek in a loving motion. He felt the stubble of his beard and smiled. “It suits you. The beard I mean. It looks good.”

Tony grabbed his hand and held it there. He grinned. “Good to know that at least someone likes it. I let it grow because of other reasons than beauty care.” His eyes searched Steve's face for something, even though Steve wasn't sure what it was. When he opened his mouth again, his voice was quiet. “It's been some years, right? How about we celebrate this reunion with dinner? The suns are setting and you look like you need a break. I could- I mean we… I'll tell you everything that happened, but not right now. Okay? Maybe after dinner?” He looked up to meet Steve's gaze, his voice had become small and yet hopeful.

“Yeah, dinner sounds good.” Steve smiled at him. His hand was still in Tony's and he felt every nerve ending like it was on fire. How could this simple skin to skin contact make him feel like he was in free fall? A loud throat clearing behind him popped the little bubble that they had been in and Steve whirled around to look at Clint who was still standing next to them. His shit eating grin was enough that Steve reluctantly took his hand from Tony's face and unsure what he should do with it now that he had it back, he rubbed it uneasily over his neck. “Uh, Tony this is Clint.” He nodded at the Zabrak. “He's our pilot and a hell of a marksman.”

“Hi. And you're who exactly again?” Clint grinned at them and crossed his arms over his chest. “Hey, Tash, did you see that just now?”

Silently the Twi'lek had come around to stand on the other side of Steve and Tony. Her hands rested on her weapons on her hips and she raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of her. “Natasha.” She said simply and went to stand next to Clint. Single words spoken in quiet Twi'leki reached Steve's ears and he was glad he didn't understand them when Natasha and Clint started snickering.

Tony just looked at Steve and there was the same spark of fire in his eyes like all those years ago. Oh, how Steve had missed it. “Ignore them, please.” He told Tony. The spy and the smuggler were a handful and Steve didn't want to creep Tony out within five minutes of their reunion. “They are giving me headaches all the time.”

“Well they do seem to be a lot of fun to watch.” Tony grinned at them.

From behind the ship Steve could suddenly hear Thor and Bruce laughing. Both had wires and tools in their arms and Tony turned around when he caught sight of them rounding the ship to deposit their boxes. “Can you please just put the rest next to the right wall? I'll look at them later!” Tony called out to them.

“So you already met them?” Steve asked him. He stepped back to grant Tony more freedom and already missed his body heat.

“Yeah, Thor comes in handy with the heavy lifting and Bruce apparently can talk tech with me. I like him.” He concluded and raised his hand in thanks to the two of them before his eyes found Steve's again. “Steve, do you… I mean- would you like to...” He gnawed on his bottom lip. “Uh, maybe you- err, your team would like to, uh, spend the night? Here, I mean? I got some spare rooms just next to the main workshop and you guys look like you need a few hours of sleep. And it would also be better if I took another look at your ship tomorrow morning when the hyperspace engine is fully back online. We could eat together and you could tell me what happened to you after the, you know… that day… But we don't have to, if it makes you uncomfortable-”

“Tony.” Steve interrupted his rambling. Tony's mouth snapped shut and his big eyes became even bigger. It made a goofy grin stretch Steve's lips. “We would be happy to stay the night if you'd have us. It would make me happy. And yeah… Maybe it's time to finally tell you everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Sun  
> (A criminal syndicate)  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Astromech_droid  
> (Droids, R2D2 is probably the most famous astromech)
> 
> To be continued!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm incredibly sorry that it took me so long to update this story. But here it is. Chapter 4. Finally!! Enjoy!!!

Nightfall on Tatooine was beautiful. The horizon was painted in a mixture of colors and the two suns shone dimly in the distance. Steve had used the last hours to prepare the ship for the next morning, help his crew settle in for the night and finally started to cook a simple meal. It was a recipe he remembered from the old days, when he'd been on the battlefield with his Master. It was nothing special, but Clint and Thor were eager to help him prepare the ingredients.

Time passed fast and soon the six of them and the three astromechs were sitting around an impromptu campfire under the stars. The heat of the day had passed and a cool breeze made Steve shiver. The plates were empty and everyone was quiet. Bruce had already gone to bed, Thor was stargazing on the roof of the workshop, and Natasha and Clint talked quietly in another corner. Tony's droids were beeping happily while they re-organized the workshop without Tony in their way. Said engineer just sat back down next to Steve offering him a worn blanket.

He took it gratefully. “I didn't know that it could be this cold on a desert planet.” He wrapped it around his shoulders and stared into the dancing flames.

“That's normal here. Blazing heat by day and freezing cold by night. You get used to it over the years.” He threw another blanket over his own shoulders. Their thighs were pressed together now and the warmth that radiated off Tony's body was wonderful on Steve's skin. The minutes passed while they only sat together and watched the light in front of them. Steve turned to look at Tony and he realized that he was still as beautiful as on the first day he'd met him. Their shared past seemed like it was a thousand years ago.

“Tony?” He broke the silence. Tony looked up to meet his gaze. “Tony, I'm so happy that I got the chance to meet you again.” Carefully he reached out and let the back of his fingers ghost over Tony's cheek.

“The day the clones betrayed us, I really thought that I'd lost you for good. I'd just become a full Jedi Knight and… Tony I was so proud to tell you that I did it. I was so excited to see you, because you would smile at me and look at me with that sparkle in your eyes, but...” His voice became a whisper until it died down and he was only watching Tony. He took a shuddering breath, the horrible memories threatened to drown him and he pulled his shaking hand back from Tony's face.

But the other man only took his fingers that still hovered in the air and pulled his hand into his lap. “Hey, breathe with me, okay? Steve? Look at me.” Tony's voice was like an anchor in the darkness of space, like a light shining in the distance and Steve started to breath in sync with him until the memories of fire, blood and screaming were only a looming shadow in the back of his mind. Their eyes locked and Tony's gaze was like honey; sweet, warm and welcoming, just like his voice. “Steve, you don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to, it's okay, I understand.”

“No.” He refused instantly. “I want to tell you. Tony, you're the only one who can understand me and I owe you and I want to tell you the whole story. It's just...” He hesitated for another moment, searching Tony's face for something. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for exactly. “It's just… I've never told anyone the whole story. Not even Natasha knows everything, and I'm pretty sure she was making a decent living, knowing everything about everyone, before she joined the team.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a sad smile.

“Wow, she does sound scary, if you put it like that.” Tony raised one eyebrow and looked at the Twi'lek who was still chatting quietly with the Zabrak in the far corner of the workshop.

“She is pretty scary when you mess with her.” Steve admitted with a smile. “But she's also fiercely protective of everyone and everything she deems deserving. She’s an Avenger, just like the rest of the crew.”

“So you call yourself Avengers, huh? Catchy name. She sounds like the kind of person you could trust your ship and your fate with, huh?”

“Yeah, she is that kind of person. Though I trust everyone on the team with my ship and my fate. That includes you too, you know?”

Tony looked startled, and looked at him with his big eyes. “Me? After all these years?”

“Yes, Tony. After all these years.” Steve confirmed. Their hands were still laying in Tony's lap and Steve let his gaze linger there. “My world crumbled in my hands when I fled the Jedi temple and couldn't take you with me. I knew you were supposed to be there because of me and I feared to find your dead body somewhere in all the chaos… It-it almost drove me insane...”

“What happened after that? How did you find your team? How did you make it out of that hell?” Tony asked with a whisper. “Tell me, Steve.”

Steve huffed and quietly cleared his throat. “I had a hole in my arm from Commander Brock's blaster, a blue eye and a few broken ribs. To be honest I wasn't sure if I'd manage to escape from Coruscant alive. I stole a freighter from the temple. Maybe it was the force or maybe it was sheer luck that I could break through the blockade around the planet. I hid on various planets in the outer rim for some time until I met Clint and Natasha through coincidence. The two of them saved my ass back then. When we were on our way to Lothal we met Master Erskine. He’d survived the massacre on Coruscant somehow. It'd already been so long that I'd seen him the last time, I had hoped that he maybe knew something what had happened to you.”

“Erskine?” Tony repeated. His gaze grew distant for a moment. “He was your Master, wasn't he?”

“Yeah, that's right.” Steve confirmed quietly. “He was my Master when I was still a Padawan. But that had already been two years ago. He was captured by bounty hunters who wanted the money the Empire pays for the head of a Jedi. I couldn't leave him there. I begged Natasha and Clint for help and we managed to free him, get him on our ship. But, well, you see, the bounty hunters weren't that amused with us freeing their prisoner. We managed to escape but I had another disagreement with a blaster.”

“You seem to get shot awfully often when I'm not around. Do you do this on purpose or are you just shitty at blocking and ducking?” Tony chuckled weakly.

“I'm a good fighter!” A short laugh bubbled from his chest before he became quiet again. “But that bounty hunter was simply better. I'll never forget his insignia on his armor. It was a red skull with six tentacles.”

“Hydra.” Tony supplied with a frown.

“Hydra. I had thought Hydra was destroyed in the last battles of the Republic. But it seems they're back.” The words hung in the air and a cold shiver ran down Steve's spine, even though the two of them were still sitting in front of the crackling fire. Hydra had been a ruthless organization. They’d claimed they didn't take any side in the galactic war. But it was an open secret that they’d been working together with the separatists.

“Unfortunately they were never defeated. I had my own share of encounters with them over the last years. None pleasant. But maybe that's a story for another time.” Tony leaned in and poked a single finger against his pecs. “Now tell me, how the story goes on. How did the scrawny Padawan turn into the beefcake that you are now?”

At this Steve really laughed. It was a pleasant interruption from the dark memories.

“Actually-” He started and took Tony's curious finger in his hand to rub gentle circles in his palm. “-you have to thank Master Erskine for that. You remember that he was well-read when it came to medicine? He gave me an experimental treatment, so I would survive the heavy injuries from when we freed him. It did rescue me from certain death and a by-effect no one expected was that it also cured me from all of my other health issues. I no longer have problems breathing, I can run faster, lift heavier and endure longer than a normal human. Getting tall and beefy was just luck, I guess.” His eyes grew sad again. “But I never managed to thank Master Erskine properly. The bounty hunter ship found and attacked us again. We had to crash land the freighter on a small moon and my Master… well- he didn't make it.”

Tony stared into the flames. Steve held both of his hands. “I’m sorry for your loss, Steve. Actually I’m sorry for everything that happened. But I have to thank Erskine. Without him you wouldn’t be sitting next to me.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Steve agreed sadly. He missed his Master and the jedi temple, but he was happy and thankful for the family he’d found with this team. And Tony… “But, please do tell me how you escaped from Coruscant.”

Tony shifted and slowly laid his head on Steve’s shoulder, so the other could pull back if he didn’t want it. But Steve stayed.

“Oh, you know, the usual.” Tony started. His voice was trembling slightly, but he tried to cover it with sarcasm. “Kidnapping, captivity, slavery. Some torture to spice things up. The Empire should really hire an interior decorator. Their cells are ugly and uncomfortable when you have a hole in your chest.”

Steve froze up next to him. His voice was husky. “That’s why… the light?”

“Yeah.” He confirmed. “That’s why the light. At first I got by with coaxium, hyperfuel. Usually it’s used for hyperspace engines but the man who patched me up when I was dying helped me modify it for this. Call it a fancy pacemaker. But the doc - his name was Yinsen - didn’t make it. He was shot, trying to help me escape. I… I still blame myself for his death. He was a good man.”

Steve heard Tony try to cover his snuffle with clearing his throat. Without a second thought he freed one of his hands from Tony’s and laid his arm around the brunet’s shoulders, pulling him in tight. Natasha glanced over at them and poked Clint. The two of them quietly left Steve and Tony alone. He was thankful for their tactfulness.

“They forced me to build them weapons. If I refused they’d just torture me until I gave in. Bombed out the whole ship they’d sent to bring me to the spice mines on Kessel. A slave transport. I fled and hid from the Empire. Took on different names. I did every crap job to stay alive. Changed my name a few times. I think they’re still looking for me. Tatooine is a no-man’s-land but even here they have stormtroopers stationed.”

Steve noticed how Tony was faintly shaking. He pulled him closer and rubbed his hand up and down his back. The things his old friend told him were horrible and Steve didn’t want to know what he’d had to endure. But the words seemed to fall from Tony’s tongue, like he needed to get them out. Steve would be the one to listen. That’s what Tony needed.

“I can’t let them capture me again. If they get their hands on this-” He tapped the shiny circle of light in his chest. “-then I’m dead for sure. The coaxium core. It slowly poisoned me. It took me a lot of time to get my hands on a suitable replacement. I tried everything. But the only thing that worked was a kyper crystal.”

“A kyper crystal?” Steve repeated in wonder. “Those crystals are the cores of the lightsabers of the jedi. They are incredibly rare and unaffordable, especially on the black market.”

“Yeah, I know.” Tony looked at him with a wry grin.

“How did you manage to get your hands on one?” Steve asked carefully. Usually only jedi were able to find them.

“Funny story.” The mechanic answered. He heard him take a shaky breath. “I stole it from the Empire. They plunder the mines on Jedha, and I thought why not visit Jedha for a short trip to the mines underneath the ruins of the jedi temple there.”

“I heard about the plunderings.” Steve agreed with a whisper and let his head fall atop of Tony’s. He felt like his insides were all muddled up. Dread and relief were battling in him. “It’s horrible, but I’m glad you’re still alive. You are so strong, Tony, so strong.”

They fell into silence. Both of them were wallowing in memories, good and bad. Until Tony stood up. His blanket fell from his shoulders. Steve missed his proximity instantly. He looked up into the mechanic's handsome face that was accentuated by the dancing flames. Steve knew it should be ashamed of his own longing, but Tony was everything he’d wanted from the moment he’d met him.

“Come with me?” Tony whispered. He extended his hand for Steve to take. A pleading look was in his dark eyes. Those eyes that were so full of warmth when they looked at Steve, but had seen so much evil in the galaxy. “I know it’s not the way of the Jedi, but I’d rather not be alone tonight.”

Steve took Tony’s hand and stood up. He smiled down at him, exhausted, sad, but incredibly happy, and followed him into his sleeping quarters. “I am no jedi. I’m an Avenger.”

For the first time in a long while Steve felt wholly, almost peaceful. He felt the Force flow through him as he laid awake at night, relishing the feeling of Tony in his arms.

He didn’t know about the approaching darkness...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spice mines of Kessel   
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Spice_mines_of_Kessel  
> Coaxium  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Coaxium  
> Kyper Cristals  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kyber_crystal  
> Jedha  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jedha


End file.
